The message of Jesus is a deeply ethical message. Plato and Aristotle who were Greek philosophers deeply studied justice and virtue. But not all virtue is ethical, that is, good. Virtue, and in particular justice, describe an intermediate state between good and evil. The teachings of Jesus differ remarkably from the Greek philosophers, the application of Greek philosophy to the doctrine of the kingdom of God is a mistake. For the Greek philosophy the pursuit of man is happiness, but for Jesus the goal of man is beatitude, the fullness of spiritual goods in man, and the conformity to God, this is the true philosophy of Jesus.
The doctrine of the Kingdom of God is itself a philosophy. Jesus asks us to live the spiritual gifts, to live the gifts is to live ethically because all gifts are good by definition. God is perfection itself and everything that is perfect is also good: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.", James 1:17
To enter the Kingdom of God is to seek the correct and the best, what is correct by the gift of counsel and what is best by the mercy, is to develop in ourselves the perfections of God. The kingdom of God is a doctrine for perfectionist people, for those who seek perfection in everything. The kingdom of God is also a doctrine of mysteries, wisdom is an infused virtue. The disciples are the first initiates.
So Jesus seeks to enlighten us in this doctrine through parables, stories: "He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything." Mark 4:34
The parables are intended to describe characteristics, qualities of the Kingdom of God. The kingdom is progressive, incremental, fermental, it begins with small decisions, the kingdom is like yeast that makes the whole dough ferment (parable of the leaven, Matthew 13:33) .The kingdom is hidden wisdom, it is that treasure that is hidden within us and that we have to discover (parable of the hidden treasure, Matthew 13:44).
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